


Nightmares Haunt Me

by anxious_soul



Series: Tony Stark-Centric Series [96]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers Family, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Clint Barton & Tony Stark Friendship, Domestic Avengers, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Odin's Bad Parenting (Marvel), Post-Avengers (2012), Protective Avengers, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Therapy, Tony Angst, Tony Stark & Thor Friendship, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29764860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxious_soul/pseuds/anxious_soul
Summary: 5 times Tony has a nightmare in front of one of the Avengers + the time he had a nightmare in front of all of them and they decided to do something about it.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark-Centric Series [96]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1126895
Comments: 5
Kudos: 88





	Nightmares Haunt Me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hope everyone's alright! 
> 
> Bad Things Happen Prompt(s): Nightmares.

**1: Thor** ****

It was midnight and the resident god had wandered down to the communal area for a midnight snack; a habit he’d developed upon learning about the _“Midgardian snack hour”_ as he put it.He was about to open a cupboard when he heard a whimper; pausing, he stood in the dim kitchen light and tried to focus in on the peculiar sound he heard as it happened again and again. The blond realised that it seemed to be coming from the lounge area, which was only faintly illuminated by the kitchen light. Creeping closer, Thor found himself staring down at a curled up, sleeping genius. Upon further observation, the god realised that Tony was pale and shaking. His forehead was slick with sweat, whilst his cheeks were wet with tears.

He was having a nightmare and a bad one if his whimpers and murmured pleas were any indication.

Thor had no clue what to do, but he knew he had to do something; he’d never dealt with anyone having a nightmare before. But, he could remember his mother comforting him when he was a young boy after he’d had a night terror. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

The blond sat down beside the small man and placed a comforting hand on his back whilst humming an Asgardian lullaby that his mother once upon a time sang to him. It wasn’t long before the genius physically relaxed and drifted into a more peaceful sleep. With a pleased smile, Thor wandered back to make his snack.

As he dug into his poptart, a whimper echoed in his ears and he looked over to find Tony back in the clutches of Epiales, the Greek deity of nightmares, who seemed to have returned with a vengeance. Thor watched as Tony tossed and turned between his cries and gasps. Stuffing the remainder of his pop tart into his mouth, Thor moved over to Tony and repeated his previous process. Only this time, once the genius had calmed, Thor settled down and closed his eyes, his hand still placed on Tony’s back as the god drifted to sleep.

**——LINE BREAK——**

Tony couldn’t remember the last time he had a gentle awakening; it was a slow process, yet he woke feeling refreshed for the first time in a long time. He shuffled a bit and felt something warm behind him and around him; opening his cinnamon eyes, he spied an arm around his waist but he knew it wasn’t Steve’s arm. It was blond, but it wasn’t the arm he knew. Looking up, he found Thor snoring behind him. 

He didn’t get confused much and he certainly didn’t like to admit to being confused ever, but this was a rare moment and Tony was very befuddled. He tried to get out of the god’s grip and after a few minutes of wiggling about, he managed to break free from Thor’s grasp and climbed over the back of the sofa. He escaped from the room quickly; he could only assume Thor had seen him having nightmares and had tried to comfort him. All he could hope was that the next time he saw the god, Thor wouldn’t mention anything about what happened. 

**2: Bruce**

Bruce was working peacefully in his half of the laboratory-cum-workshop floor in the Tower when a sudden strange noise from Tony’s side. Looking up and peering over his glasses, he spotted Tony laying on the dingy sofa in the little kitchen area that separated their sides of the floor. Seeing nothing wrong and not hearing anything else, Bruce continued with his research. 

There was a whimper. It froze Bruce in his place as he looked over to Tony once again. This time, instead of finding the genius sleeping peacefully, he could see the billionaire tossing and turning; whimpers flew from his lips as sweat poured down his face. 

He wandered over and tried to wake Tony up, calling his name gently but loudly; he could feel the Hulk worry about _his_ ‘tin-man’ deep inside and whilst Bruce knows that his alter ego wouldn’t hurt Tony (who was perhaps the only person that the Hulk cared for -outside of Bruce), having him come out in a room with all sorts of dangerous chemicals and important creations was probably not a good idea. 

“Tony, come on, it’s just a dream,” Bruce murmured awkwardly as he placed his hand on the man’s arm, shaking it ever so gently. But the grasp the nightmares had on Tony refused to relent. Bruce was unsure what to do; he’d never had to handle someone in the midst of a nightmare, only ever himself. He asked JARVIS, who replied with information that people shouldn’t wake someone from a nightmare. Yet, Bruce couldn’t comprehend the idea of leaving Tony to fight his demons alone.

“Dr Banner, perhaps sitting beside him and keeping a comforting hand on him would help? I recall sir calming down when Mr Odinson kept him company.”

“Thank you, JARVIS, I think I’ll do just that,” Bruce replied, but at the mention of Thor, he couldn’t help but wonder if nightmares plagued Tony more often than the genius let on. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

The scientist had settled down with his work on the sofa, one hand running through Tony’s hair, whilst the other held a pen and made notes. It was a peaceful atmosphere as Tony was released from the cruel clutches of his nightmares and was enveloped in the comforting grasp of dreamless sleep.

It wasn’t long before Bruce found himself drifting off as well. 

And when he next woke, Tony was long gone, but Bruce’s work had been neatly placed on the coffee table and a blanket had been put over him. Tony never brought up what had happened, so Bruce never mentioned it. 

**3: Natasha** ****

The redhead was dancing in the dance-studio half of the gym floor that Tony had built primarily for her, but he too on occasion dabbled in ballet; it was something the two could bond over. Where Natasha had been forced to learn by the Red Room, Tony had been forced to quit by Howard. Despite that, the two loved to dance; it was a way of relaxing despite the horrors that the two could associate with the activity. Natasha’s was obvious, it was during her time at the Red Room. Ballet wasn’t a fun activity; it was part of her training. Yet she broke that view of it and embraced the dance form as a way to relax and enjoy herself. For Tony, it was something he had chosen to do in secrecy; Howard only found out when he caught Tony practising at the tender age of seven. The cruel man forced his son to quit and to never consider ballet again using vile derogatory words and violence. It was only during a drunken evening that Tony shared this with Natasha and from there, the two took up the activity again. 

So as Natasha danced, allowing herself to leave the world and drift away, she didn’t notice anything wrong until a cry shattered through her state of unawareness. Being a Black Widow meant that as unaware as she was, she was still more aware than most people typically are. So at the sound, she fell quickly into a fighting stance and cast her eyes across the room in search of the crier. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

Within seconds, she spotted Tony curled up on the fancy albeit comfortable sofa to the back of the room; it was placed in the room so that people could sit and watch as Natasha and/or Tony danced. Prowling over to the genius, she supposed that he must have wandered in to watch her and fallen asleep.

The assassin stared down at him for a few minutes, she noted how vulnerable he was right then; curled up and crying in the company of the infamous Black Widow. Yet he didn’t care; Natasha couldn’t work out if that showed his stupidity or the amount of trust he had in her and even the latter option proved him to be an idiot. 

Quickly realising he was in the suffocating arms of nightmares, she took a seat and gently lifted his head onto her lap; running her fingers through his hair as she hummed a Russian lullaby that she very faintly recalled from her youth pre-Red Room. His heavy breathing calmed slowly and his furrowed brow relaxed as did the tight curl of his body. She continued to hum until she too felt drowsy and leaned her head back to take a light nap. 

Of course, she was conscious when she felt Tony wake up, but knowing what he was like, Natasha allowed him to trick himself with the idea that she was asleep. She knew that Tony knew she wasn’t really asleep, but pretending was a kindness to his pride. 

**4: Clint** ****

The archer was venturing through the vents as per usual when something made him pause. He turned his hearing aid up and crept close to the opening in the vent where the unusual sound seemed to come from. Peeking through the slits in the vent opening, he could spy Tony laying in his bed by himself (Steve was away for the week). There was a moan and at first, Clint thought it was one of pleasure, but when the moan turned into a strangled sob, he realised that something was wrong. Leaping down quietly, he walked closer to the bed, watching with hawk-like eyes in the dark as the genius tossed and turned, tangling himself in his duvet. 

Natasha had told Clint very briefly that she’d caught Tony in the midst of a nightmare and he’d calmed down when she ran her hand through his hair and hummed to him. With that in mind, Clint straightened the duvet out, untangling Tony’s legs, before sneaking in and wrapping his arms around the restless man. Pulling Tony to his chest, Clint felt him eventually calm and quiet down in his arms. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

Clint woke up to find Tony long gone, but he too wasn’t surprised. He knew the genius would never bring it up and that was completely fine because he knew that Tony appreciated the action. 

**5: Steve** ****

Something woke him late in the night; looking around, he couldn’t see any threats lurking in their room, but he saw nothing in the darkness. He turned to look at Tony only to receive a smack in the face. Stunned, he sat up and took in his boyfriend as his eyes adjusted to the dark. 

Tony’s face was pale to the point that it eerily stood out in the dark. His cheeks were stained with drying and dried tears; his limbs flailed about and Steve narrowly avoided being hit again. Gently holding his boyfriend close to his chest, he tried to calm Tony down, murmuring comforting words into his ears and kissing the back of his neck.

It felt like Tony was entrapped in his nightmares forever, but eventually, he relaxed into Steve’s arms and the pair of them were eased into a gentle sleep once again.

**+1: Everyone** ****

It was Movie Night in the tower and the team were gathered around lazing in their loungewear across the sofas and chairs in the living room. Snacks were on the table and in laps as Clint put _Jaws_ on because it was his turn to choose and he found it disgraceful that Steve had yet to watch such as classic. 

“Next week, we’re watching the _Jurassic Park_ trilogy,” Tony mentioned as it was his turn to choose then,

“Steve, have you not watched those yet _either?_ ” Clint exclaimed in horror, “also we’re not watching the second film,”

“I said we’re watching the trilogy, Legolas, that includes _The_ _Lost World_.”

“I don’t like that one,”

“Why not?” Steve asked curiously,

“Because the dog-“  


“No spoilers, Legolas,” Tony growled,

“Fine. We can watch it, but don’t expect me to be happy about it.”  


“I really couldn’t care less.”

“Rude!” 

“Shut up, the film’s starting,” Natasha hissed at the two of them and they shut up as Tony curled into Steve’s side on their sofa.

**——LINE BREAK——**

They were about halfway through the film when a whimper echoed through the room. It wasn’t from the TV. Looking over to the sofa with Steve and Tony, the rest of the Avengers noticed the blond looking down worriedly at his boyfriend, who was curled up with tears trailing down his pale cheeks. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony the best he could do from the angle they laid in.

“He’s been having nightmares a lot recently,” Thor commented uncharacteristically quietly, 

“Almost every night,” Steve murmured back, “I don’t know what’s going on, he’s getting worse.”

“It’s leading to him falling asleep everywhere,” Natasha mentioned, “he fell asleep when I was dancing earlier in the week,”

“I too found him asleep on the sofa in here one night,”

“He fell asleep in the workshop,”

“I caught him having a nightmare in bed.”

“Do you think it’s because I was gone this week?”

“But you’re back now, Steve,” Bruce murmured, “I think, perhaps, instead of letting him hideaway after his nightmares, we need to bring it up with him. He can’t keep having nightmares, it’s unhealthy and he’s slowly digging his own grave.”

“When he wakes up,” the blond said, “we’ll talk then.”

**——LINE BREAK——**

The film ended, but Tony was still asleep, only this time it was a peaceful slumber. Clint decided that instead of waking the genius, he’d instead ruin everyone’s evening by putting on the sequel of _Jaws_. 

“Please tell me you’re _not_ actually watching the sequels?” Came a croaky with sleep voice and the team looked over to find Tony staring at them with slowly waking eyes.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Steve murmured leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead as Tony mumbled in agreement, “we wanted to wait until you woke up to talk,”  


“Talk?” Tony asked sitting up worriedly,

“It’s nothing bad,” Bruce quickly reassured, “we’re just worried, Tony,”

“Why?”  


“My friend, you haven’t been sleeping well this week; you’ve been having nightmares every night,” Thor stated,

“I…"  


“котенок, we’ve all caught you having nightmares; the only thing that’s comforted you is touch, but we’re worried. It’s consistent.”

“I… I have been having nightmares…” Tony started, “of Afghanistan and… and the wormhole. I don’t… I don’t know why they’ve started up again; before Steve and I started dating, I had them all the time, it’s why I didn’t sleep properly… well, it was an excuse to not sleep.”

“When did they start up again?” Clint asked, but Tony looked away not wanting to answer,

“Anthony?” Thor questioned with his gentle eyes that compelled the genius to look back at the group and answer,

“They… they came back when Steve went away,”

“But, I’m back now, why are they still happening?” Steve asked, he had thought that the nightmares could be connected to him not being there to hold Tony as they slept,

“I… I honestly don’t know. My nightmares haunt me and I think they just don’t want to stop,” Tony answered with more of a grimace than a smirk as he tried to joke.

“Perhaps,” Natasha began somewhat reluctantly, “we should follow through with Fury’s suggestion,”  


“Which was…” Clint encouraged trying to get her to finish her sentence when the redhead fell silent,

“Therapy.”  


“Yeah, no.” 

“ _Clint.”_

“I mean, it does sound like a good idea,” Bruce mumbled, rubbing at his glasses, “I assume it was a suggestion that we go individually and not as a group,” Natasha nodded, 

“We all have our own issues and I don’t think group therapy is something that’s needed,” Clint muttered grudgingly agreeing with her and Bruce.

“I think we could all benefit from talking to someone,” Steve answered honestly before looking at Tony, who was clearly uncomfortable with the concept,

“Anthony, I believe I understand your weariness. It stems from your father, does it not?” Tony nodded at Thor’s question, “my own father had a similar mindset that therapy was for the weak, however, he is wrong. And yours was wrong too. I believe it takes a courageous person to go to therapy. I too shall go.”

“I… I suppose if everyone else is going… then it would be a… a good idea for me to go as well,” Tony relented after a few moments of silence and the team smiled at him gently. 

**——LINE BREAK——**

About a month and a half after starting therapy, Tony’s nightmares faded into pleasant dreams of the future and everyone could see the difference in the man. Gone was the broken genius that hid behind walls of masks and in his place, perhaps for the first time in decades, was a genuinely happy Tony Stark.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, I am quite obsessed with the Jurassic Park franchise (including Jurassic World) but I flat out refuse to watch The Lost World because a) dinos in the city is kinda freaky and b) the t-rex noms on a dog and that's where I draw the line -it can eat the people, but not the dogs. 
> 
> Next up is Overdose. I've got a bit of an idea for it, but might need to do some research.
> 
> [My tumblr](https://anxious---soul.tumblr.com) feel free to say hi or something!  
> 
> 
> Anyway,  
> Thank you for reading,  
> Hope you enjoyed this,  
> Please leave a kudos and a comment  
> 


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